Some people say that if you remember anything about Woodstock, you weren't actually there. Woodstock 1969 was full of bad weather, press, planning, technical problems, human error, and most thought it was a disaster before it even started, but the three day festival proved to be something much more than anyone anticipated. Woodstock was the iconic event for counterculture movement of the 1960's. Memorable counterculture bands like Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills and Nash, Jimi Hendrix The Who, Santana, Sly & The Family Stone, Janis Joplin, and dozens of other performed during the three muddy days; doves of counterculture members flocked to the small town of Woodstock, New York to be part of the festival. In fact, so many showed up at the gates officials had to scratch ticket sales and make it free. Joel Rosenmen, one of the four young entrepreneurs who organized Woodstock, said he was expecting only about 60,000. By the end of the first day, nearly 400,000 had showed up

All in all, Woodstock was a commercial success for those who attended (and a disaster for those behind the scenes). But Woodstock elevated itself to much more than a three day festival. It essentially became the symbol of the counterculture. Throughout the sixties, they promoted peace, love, sympathy, and a unity amongst people and the members of Woodstock were able to achieve that. Despite the lack of police force and security available, no violence or riots occurred. Even the local townspeople unified in trying to make the festival run smoothly, doing whatever they could to help. Woodstock was such an event that even the type of people the counterculture rejected got caught up in the emotions of that rainy weekend and joined in. It allowed for both groups of people to find a common ground. The counterculture was the event of an era; it represented all aspects of the counterculture: the music; the myriad of drugs; the atmosphere of peace and love; and above all, an unity.

Woodstock Statistics

"Woodstock." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. St. James Press, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

"Woodstock Music Festival Epitomizes The 1960's, August 15, 1969-August 17, 1969." DISCovering World History. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

"Woodstock."Dictionary of American History. Stanley I. Kutler, ed. 3rd ed. 10 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/